Wednesday, 17 February 2016

New from Bourjois: City Radiance Foundation and Radiance Reveal Concealer

Bourjois is one of my favourite drugstore brands, I like many of their products and have used their foundations for years, Healthy Mix being one of my favourites. After recently falling in love with the Air Mat (review) I was very curious about the latest addition, the City Radiance foundation, so I picked it up together with the new Radiance Reveal concealer. I used to be scared of anything that promises radiance or luminosity as my skin has been combination/oily but lately only my T-zone is a bit oilier and the rest of my face is more on a normal side and I'm all about healthy glowing complexion so I though I give these two products a go.

I really like the matte, transparent plastic container that looks glass-like with the silver lid, elegant and more like a high-end product then from drugstore. The concealer has a doe foot applicator like most liquid concealers do. It comes with 7.8ml of product.

Claims

It conceals imperfections, dark circles and puffiness for a fresh and radiant
look.

An instant skincare action: enriched with Mont Blanc glacier water &
hyaluronic acid, it visibly smoothes away wrinkles and fine lines and hydrates
the under eye area for up to 24 hours.

Formula

The Radiance Reveal Concealer comes in only 3 shades, I have the 01 Light, the texture is nice and creamy without being too thick or runny, it's very easy to blend. It provides medium coverage and it feels quite hydrating on the skin. It has strong fresh scent to it, characteristic for Bourjois base products but it doesn't linger for longer then couple of minutes and, personally, it doesn't bother me.

My experience and thoughts on the concealer.

I really like this concealer as it beautifully brightens the under eye area and it doesn't look dry on my more mature skin. But it needs setting as it would definitely crease, especially if you have some fine lines around your eyes. Once set I find it lasts around 8 hours on my skin before slightly settling in my fine lines and fading.

My one little issue with this concealer is that it doesn't cover well very dark circles so when my under eye area needs more help I like to use my Pixi Under Eye Corrector to cancel out the discoloration and darkness and then apply the Bourjois concealer to further brighten and illuminate that area.

I'd also say that it's better to apply it in thin layers, blending it well in between, then packing lots at once as it would be just more prone to creasing. I usually blend it with damp makeup sponge but it also works well with my fingers. I never use brush to blend my under eye concealer so I can't tell you how does it work with it.

I can't vouch for its wrinkles smoothing properties as I don't use it exclusively and I rely on my actual eye creams for that but it definitely doesn't accentuate them and it's quite hydrating on the skin.

The City Radiance foundation comes in only 6 shades, I have the 02 Vanilla which is a good match for me but I can imagine people with darker skin tones or very fair with pink under tones will struggle to find a match. The formula is quite creamy but lightweight, almost gel-like, it blends easily into the skin and it doesn't accentuate dry patches. Having said that I had a few days with quite dry, flaky skin and it did look a bit cakey on it, especially when applied with a brush. The foundation gives light to medium coverage and luminous finish. It feels hydrating on the skin.

My experience and thoughts on the foundation.

Although I wasn't expecting this I really like this foundation, I can't say it's my favourite and the best I've ever used but I keep reaching for it, especially on week days when I wear quite minimal makeup and don't need a base that has to last all day. This foundation gives me medium coverage at most but it evens out my skin tone nicely and hide some minor imperfections while slightly burring my large pores. It adds healthy radiance to my skin which I like but because my skin doesn't hold foundations very well I need to set it with a powder. I usually do it with the Bourjois Healthy Balance powder which doesn't look cakey and it doesn't take away too much of the natural luminosity that comes with the foundation.

Without a primer the City Radiance foundation lasts on me around 4 hours before I start seeing some signs of wear on my nose and chin. With my favourite Soap & Glory primer the foundation lasts well on my skin for 6-7 hours. It wears off evenly without getting patchy or weird looking.

My favourite method of applying any foundation is with damp Beauty Blender and it's the same case with this foundation, although I also tried it with a brush and it looked good too. Apart from those couple of days when my skin was strangely dry and flaky and the foundation looked cakey but I'm sure any foundation would look the same on my skin that day. Bear in mind that if you have lots of dry patches the foundation may cling to them if you try to build up the coverage, it should be fine with one thin layer though.

Overall I think the foundation is a very nice option for those of you with normal, dry and/or mature skin who needs a base that feels hydrating, lightweight and adds a bit of luminosity. People with oily skin probably would not like this foundation but it's all to personal preferences.

I like that the foundation contains SPF30 and anti-pollution screen which protect the skin and if I know I will be outside for only a short period of time I skip the facial SPF in the morning.

But remember not to rely completely only on your makeup to protect your skin from harmful radiation.

Have you tried the new complexion products from Bourjois? Did you like them?